
3^ ***«:>L% ^^ 























A* V'?^'&** V"f^.*A* *<.--???rf'.o** V 



^^ ••T'':. 









.0^ .»••* 












* *7 c 
















^**o^ 



^/ <^^ 






1^ -.♦♦<>- 










Songs of the Old South 




;/ 



Songs of the 
Old South 



Verses and Drawings by 

Howard Weeden 

Author of " Bandanna Ballads " and " Shadows on the Wall 



" ril south with the sun and keep my clime " 

Sidney Lanier 



NEW YORK 
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

1900 



WOV 8 1900 

, Ce^ynghl entry 



sir^Np copy. 

DtXvt-flrt to 
OHUtH DiViStON, 

rlOV ;d-i tijou 



\Q0O 



Copyright, igoo, bv 
HOWARD WEEDEN 



ICottaaoO.iPrtsa 

J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
Norwood Mass. U.S.A. 



DEDICATED 

TO 

THE ONE MOST DEAR 




Prefatory Note 



/"T^HESE modest songs and pictures, snatched 
X from the fading remnant of a people now 
nearly passed away, are only valuable because the 
Past is always precious, and only 

" — beautiful for beincr old and gone.'' 




■^ 



Contents 

When the Angels Call, 3 

Old Watt and the Rabbits, 6 

Left Behind, 10 

Silent Strings, 14 

A Toast, 18 

At Ease, 22 

The Song of the Watcher, 26 

Dancing in the Sun, 30 

A Song, 34 

Hush, 38 

Nocturn, 42 

Mullen, 46 

Old Mis', 50 

'Way down South, 54 



Contents 

Sitting in the Sun, 58 

When Manners were in Bloom, 62 

Long Ago, 66 

The Worst of W^ar, 70 

Resting, 74 

Hard Worked, yS 

The Cotton Bloom, 82 

At Last, 86 

The Arabian Nights, 90 

Frost Work, 94 



WHEN THE ANGELS CALL 



When the Angels Call 

" Mammy, dear Mammy, what do you see 
When you lift such wistful eyes ? " 

" Faces, my chile, of dem dat are gone 
Who smile at me out of de skies." 

" Mammy, dear Mammy, what do you hear 
When you look so far away ? " 

" Voices biddin' me come, my chile, 
To Heaven, to rest an' stay : 

" An' Mammy would gladly go to dat rest 

When de angels beckon so — 
But who would pillow her baby's hade 

If baby's Mammy should go ! " 



OLD WATT AND THE RABBITS 



Old Watt and the Rabbits 

Dat thing of rabbits havin' sense 
Like other folks, is gospel true : 

I've heard it tole by dem dat knows 
An' 'sides of dat I've seen it too; 

One night I come home thro' de woods 
An' in a clearin' 'mungst de oaks, 

I saw some rabbits havin' church 
As pompous as de bes' of folks : 

Dey give experience, an' dey sung, 
An' den dey 'zorted, an' den prayed, 

An' everything was done de way 
Dat other sinners' church is made : 

An' while one preached de others slept 

As sensible as we all do ; 
An' den, de meetin' havin' broke, 

Dey went like us, home two an' two. 

An' when dey 'gin to pint an' talk 
'Bout one another mean, why dcji 

I says, says I, dem rabbits sho' 
Got sense de same as men ! 

6 



LEFT BEHIND 



Left Behind 

When my ole Master took down sick 

I nussed him till he died, 
An' many a pleasant day we had — 

Me sittin' by his side. 

We talked about de ole, ole times, 

Part fun, an' part de truth, 
But mostly Master mused on Her, 

De Mistis' of our youth : 

She was so bright an' quick, he said, 

She even died dat way — 
An' went before him forty years 

A-smilin' — swif an' gay : 

" But you slow cuss," he said to me, 

" You always ivas behin' ! 
" Come on ! " an' wid dat word he went 

An' lef his hand in mine ! 



■ 1 . ... 




•■> 



SILENT STRINGS 



Silent Strings 

For all dat it hangs so silent now, 

Dis banjo once was gay, 
An' it wove de dreams dat I had of her 

Into chunes as sweet as May. 

An' often I thought that its quiverin' strings 

Must be of myse'f a part — 
Else how could dey tingle an' thrill as dey did 

If her shadow but fell on my heart ! 

But de dreams an' de chunes has bof passed away 

An' nothin' is lef for to tell her: 
De banjo she likes bes' to listen to now^ 

Is played by a happier feller ! 



14 



A TOAST 



A Toast 

Whenever you want a drink dat shall mean 

De best in de way of water, 
Jes' manage to take it out of a gode 

An' den hit will taste like hit ous^hter. 



No matter de place, hit will put you at home 

As if you an' godes was kin, 
An' you know you can't feel as friendly as dat 

Wid a citified dipper of tin ! 

You can drink to de fields, you can drink to 
de crops — 

You can drink to your work an' your load — 
You can drink to everything simple an' true, 

When you drinks fum a country gode ! 



AT EASE 



At Ease 

I tried to live in town, but oh ! 
De town was swif an' I was slow, 
So back I came to de cotton rows 
An' one ole mule I'm sure I knows. 

He don't expect no more of me, 
Thank God, den I expects of he ; 
An' I don't 'spect no more of he 
Den likewise he expects of me. 

So I don't feel ashamed no mo' 
Of bein' black an' mean an' slow. 
Because you see dis ole mule Jeff 
Knows 'zactly how it is his sef ' ! 



#i«»;l^ 




THE SONG OF THE WATCHER 



i-^ 




The Song of the Watcher 



A small moon hanos in de mornin' skv, 
A chile is come wid de davvnin' : 

De soul of de Mother takes its flight 
Early in de mornin': 

De baby hastens into de worl' 

Eager to meet de dawnin' ; 
But de soul dat knows — it speeds to its Rest 

Early in de mornin' ! 



26 



DANCING IN THE SUN 



Dancing in the Sun 

A small brown ragged shadowy boy, 

A silhouette of fun, 
And a shadow as ragged and slim as himself 

A-dancing in the sun ; 

It is hard to tell the shadows apart 

So into each other they run, 
As dark and elusive they melt and they whirl 

And mix — as they dance in the sun. 

No matter what falls to the rest of the world 
No matter what's done or undone — 

So the day be but idle and long enough 
For dancing in the sun ! 



3° 



A SONG 



A Song 

River, roll away from me 

An' steal as you pass de cane 

A whisperin' sigh — to lose it again 

When you reach de shinin' sea. 

River, roll away from me 
Through banks of jessamine sweet. 
An' bear de odorous breaf till you meet 
An' give it away to de sea. 

Sighs an' sweets you may give to de sea ; 
I only ask dat de notes 
Of dis song of Love dat softly floats 
You will bear to Her — from me! 



34 




ti-r •» 




HUSH 



Hush 

In the place where they make all the drowsy 
things 

Like Sleep, and Dreams, and the rest, 
It is said that the drowsiest thing that is made 

Is a Mammy's deep dark breast. 

It is deep so that Life shall have one hiding-place 
Where its fret and its noises may cease ; 

And dark that the light of the garish day 
May have its one shadow of peace. 

And the angels who come down to watch over 
sleep 
Look first for these sheltering nests, 
And give the most beautiful dreams that they 
bring- 
To the babes on the darkest breasts. 



NOCTURN 



Nocturn 

When de weary clay in de fields is done, 
An' you plods todes home at night, 

De light dat you sees in your cabin-door 
Is sweet as a heabenly sight, 

An' it glows through de glimmerin' purple 
dusk 

Wid a lioht dat is tender an' true. 
When you know dat it's busy cookin' for you 

A handsome 'possum-stew! 



42 



MULLEN 



Mull 



en 



You may say all you will of what doctors kin do 
Wid deir 'scriptions an' dat sort of talk, 

But if you is sick an' wants to be cured, 
Jis' git you a good mullen stalk! 

De mullen don't need fer to feel of your pulse, 
Nor to ask about how do you do : 

De tea when you 've swallowed hit knows where 
to go 
'Dout askin' no questions of you. 

Of course dere are things even mullen can't do 

Like makin' a fool-nigger smart, 
An' dey say dat de strongest dose ever took. 

Never cured a achin' heart. 

But for natchel, old-fashioned, an' everyday 
pains 

Like sensible folks do have, 
Jis' take a good swallow of she-mullen tea 

An' tech up wid she-mullen salve ! 



46 



OLD MIS' 



Old Mis' 

You never knowed Ole Mis', you say? 

Well, dat's a pity, shore ; 
De sort of Quality she was 

Is gone — to come no more. 

Her gracious word was like a Queen's, 

So kine an' yet so strong ; 
We all kep' time to her sof speech 

Like marchin' to a song. 

A nigger didn't dare to die 

Nor marry on our place 
Widout she give her blessin' an' 

Her 'pinion on de case ; 

She knowed more den de doctors, 'case 

God tole her what to give ; 
She knowed more den de preachers, 'case 

God tole her how to live. 

Dat ole plantation hit was run 
On 'rangements 'bout like dis : 

De place hit b'longed to Master, but 
Ole Master b'longed to Mis' ! 



50 



'WAY DOWN SOUTH 



'Way Down South 

An azure sky — a warm brown face — 
Soft black eyes and a dazzling mouth — 

A red bandanna, touched with gold — 

And this is the color — 'way down South. 

A bird that plays on a mocking flute — 
A melting drawl from a smiling mouth — 

A tinkling banjo hid in the shade — 

And this is the music, 'way down South. 



54 



SITTING IN THE SUN 



Sitting in the Sun 

Long time I wandered far from home, 
But now my travelHng's done — 

I'm 'way down South once more — once more 
An' sittin' in de sun. 

It warms my cold old blood again 

An' brings back youth an' fun, 
An' I jes' dozes — sleeps — an' dreams 

A-sittin' in de sun. 

De warm wind brings de scents I knew 

When life was jes' begun. 
An' faces dat I early loved 

Smile at me in de sun. 

An' some day when de sleep is sound. 

My soul will slip an' run 
From dis ole Self dat sits an' smiles 

So quiet in de sun ! 



s8 



WHEN MANNERS WERE IN BLOOM 



When Manners were in Bloom 

You say you would paint my manners too 
Along wid my head, — if you could ; 

Well, you should have lived in olden times 
When manners was really good ! 

De days was sweet an' warm an' long, 

Wid plenty of time to be kine, 
An' every one smiled an' bowed an' scraped, 

An' every one did it fine ! 

I seem to smell de locust flower 

Heavy after rain — 
An' de ghostly scent of mimosa blooms 

Comes bio win' back again ; 

An' I feels de fine ole mannerly times 

Mix wid de scents till I seem 
To see ole Master as natchel as life — 

Bow in a kin' of dream : 

His manners was certainly quality ways, 

De finest dat ever I see; 
Dough folks used to laugh an' say dat he took 

Dem gilt-edged ways from me ! 

62 



LONG AGO 



Long Ago 

Brightes' heavens used to smile 

Blue an' low, 
Softes' breezes used to sigh, 

Long Ago ! 

Reddest roses used to bend, 

Blush, an' blow, 
Faires' mornings used to dawn, 

Long Ago ! 

Sweetes' smile of all the smiles 

I used to know. 
Made de worl' like dat for me 

Lons: Ao^o ! 



66 



THE WORST OF WAR 



The Worst of War 

When my young master went to war 

He carried me wid him too, 
An' douoh I never fired a shot 

Dere was plenty else to do. 

He wore de sword an' buttons an' spurs, 
An' none was so brave as he; 

But never so hard a thing did he do 
As the thino: he lef for me. 

Where a storm of leaden hail fell thick 

He got a ball in his heart 
An' died wid a happy smile on his face — 

But mine was de harder part : 

I led his horse back home where dey sat 

Expectin' him — an' I saw 
Mistis' an' Master's hearts when dey broke 

An' dat was de worst of war! 



70 



RESTING 



Resting 

No — slavery wasn't bad enough 
To make my memory fret, 

'Twas only dat I was so drove 
I ain't got rested yet. 

So when I hears you talk of heaben 
An' wings — an' flyin' 'round — 

I sighs an' says, " If hit suits God, 
I'll take heaben sittin' down ! " 



74 



HARD WORKED 



Hard Worked 

" Old man with the sweet, black, patient face, 

Pray tell me about your life ; 
It has had its many griefs, I'm sure, 

And its noble work and strife." 

" Yes, sir, dat's right : in slavery times 

My business used to be 
To hunt ole Masters specks, an' dat 

Did shorely pester me ; 

" Since Freedom come I've had a load 

Of politics to tote ; 
For if you does it right, it takes 

All of your strenk to vote ! " 



78 



THE COTTON BLOOM 



The Cotton Bloom 

The rose has a thousand lovers because 
Of her delicate grace and perfume, 

But lovers for studier reasons give 
Their hearts to the cotton bloom : 

It grows in a dazzling ample land 
Of measureless breadth and room — 

And the wealth of a splendid tropical sun 
Dowers this cotton bloom. 

And Capital keeps his eyes on the field 
While he hears the hum of the loom, 

And his anxious visage glows and pales 
At the nod of the cotton bloom ! 



82 



"z:^ ] 



^ 




AT LAST 



At Last 

De road is grown so rough an' dark 
I tries no more to roam — 

I'm standin' tired by de way 
Fer God to lead me Home. 

De friends I knew are gone, an' none 

Are lef to understan', 
But God, who loves an' understan's, 

He holds me by de ban'. 

A lonely Peace is come at las' — 

An' now I waitin' see 
De hinderin' things all fall away 

An' leave jes' God an' me ! 



86 





>lo ^V^ 



LofC. 



THE ARABIAN NIGHTS 



The Arabian Nights 

When Hfe was young an idle rhyme 

Could charm the happy time, 
And Mammy gave us, with a kiss, 

A song that went like this: 
" De Squirrel has a bushy tail, 

De 'Possum's tail am bare, 
De Raccoon's tail am ringed all 'round, 

De old Hare's tail aint dere." 

Our Mammy was the wit and sage 

Of all that golden age : 
And when she sung a song like this 

She steeped the night in bliss : 
" De Squirrel has a bushy tail, 

De 'Possum's tail am bare, 
De Raccoon's tail am ringed all 'round, 

De ole Hare's tail aint dere ! " * 



* The old friend, upon whose memory the author draws for 
much that is in this book, listens backward seventy years, and 
hears this song. 



90 







!;■■ 



FROST WORK 



Frost Work 

When plenty ripe persimmons make 

A 'Possum hunt jis' right, 
An' frost has teched your spirits till 

Dey's feelin' kind o' light, 
'Tis time to take your banjo down 

Fum off the cabin wall 
An' weave a little song in praise 

Of 'Possum-time an' fall ! 

When evenin' fires softly throw 

Your tremblin' shadow tall 
To meet an' kiss Her shadow as 

It beckons on de wall — 
'Tis time to take your banjo down 

An' make de music stir 
W^id weavin' happy songs in praise 

Of 'Possum-time an' Her ! 



94 




15^ 



W23 




<» ♦' .7i' .0 



4^ ^^-. 




















^\'j^^' 
















<v ^ '-^ • • • ' j5 









■^'O'' 



•»bi.* 






*°'-*. 




r^V*. "V^^V* '"V'^^V* V''^^>*°^^ 



»« 











*„<*>" .'«^&MIf4:j Jqfl4^:-. 






